Cessna U206A Super Skywagon, G-ATLT

Summary:

The aircraft was landing on Runway 06, a close-mown grass strip about 500 m long and 30 m wide, surrounded by ground crop. The surface wind was from 340° at 10 kt and the pilot reported that a stand of trees, near the runway, generated turbulence over the threshold. The pilot landed deeper into the runway than he intended and found the braking action to be poor or negligible on the wet grass surface. As the end of the runway approached, he turned the aircraft to the left and it slid sideways. The right main landing gear slipped off the end of the runway surface into the crop which, at this point, was about one foot lower than the runway surface. At some point during the sideways movement, the right wing contacted the ground with sufficient force to cause damage to its outer section. The pilot concluded that the accident was the result of windshear, turbulence and the wet grass surface.

CAA General Aviation Safety Sense leaflet 7, Aeroplane Performance, states that wet grass can increase the landing distance required (LDR) by 35%, and that ‘very short grass may be slippery, distances required may increase by up to 60%’.